Quick analysis: July is a milestone month for CFPB complaints against debt collectors, if only because we have reached the one-year mark for complaint reporting and can begin benchmarking year-over-year comparisons.
Having said that, month #1 for CFPB complaints against debt collectors (July 2013) was pretty tame with only 901 complaints filed – a number that we all know dramatically rises in the months to follow it.
July 2014 saw a strong 3269 complaints filed, though that was down a bit from the previous month with 3390 complaints filed in June (up from the reported 3336 a month ago)
On to the statutory horse race, We saw a second straight month of FDCPA gains, but the overall rate is still down double-digits YTD, at 12.4% below 2013.
FCRA and TCPA both showed a bit of volatility last month, with FCRA up over 15% and TCPA down almost 8% from July. Both are still significantly up YTD though, FCRA at 11.6% and TCPA up 33.6% over 2013.
Of the 828 FDCPA cases filed, 82 (9.9%) of them are class actions. Of the 202 FCRA lawsuits filed, 21 (10.4%) are class actions. And of the 196 TCPA lawsuits filed, 19 (9.7%) are class actions.
Finally, 32% of the consumers who filed litigation in July are considered repeat filers, having filed similar litigation in the past.
| Comparisons: | Current Period: | Previous Period: | Previous Year Comp: | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 01 – 31, 2014 | Jun 01 – 30, 2014 | Jul 01 – 31, 2013 | |||
| CFPB Complaints | 3269 | 3390 | -3.7% | 901 | -262.8% |
| FDCPA lawsuits | 828 | 815 | 1.6% | 886 | -7.0% |
| FCRA lawsuits | 202 | 171 | 15.3% | 176 | 12.9% |
| TCPA lawsuits | 196 | 211 | -7.7% | 143 | 27.0% |
| YTD CFPB Complaints | 23794 | 901 | 96.2% | ||
| YTD FDCPA lawsuits | 5701 | 6406 | -12.4% | ||
| YTD FCRA lawsuits | 1376 | 1217 | 11.6% | ||
| YTD TCPA lawsuits | 1525 | 1012 | 33.6% | ||
Complaint Statistics:
3269 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors and about 1146 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes in Jul 2014. Here is an approximate breakdown:
- 3269 CFPB Complaints
- 828 FDCPA
- 196 TCPA
- 202 FCRA
Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):
- Of those cases, there were about 1146 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
- Of those plaintiffs, about 365, or (32%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
- Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 1564 lawsuits since 2001
- Actions were filed in 160 different US District Court branches.
- About 855 different collection firms and creditors were sued.
The top courts where lawsuits were filed:
- 74 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
- 56 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
- 46 Lawsuits: Colorado District Court – Denver
- 44 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Los Angeles
- 33 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
- 33 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
- 31 Lawsuits: Michigan Eastern District Court – Detroit
- 26 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
- 25 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
- 22 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
The most active consumer attorneys were:
- Representing 30 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
- Representing 25 Consumers: DAVID MICHAEL LARSON
- Representing 23 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
- Representing 20 Consumers: KRISTINA N KASTL
- Representing 20 Consumers: VICKI PIONTEK
- Representing 20 Consumers: MICHAEL P DOYLE
- Representing 20 Consumers: PATRICK M DENNIS
- Representing 19 Consumers: CRAIG THOR KIMMEL
- Representing 17 Consumers: ANGIE K ROBERTSON
- Representing 17 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
Statistics Year to Date:
7401 total lawsuits for 2014, including:
- 5701 FDCPA
- 1376 FCRA
- 1525 TCPA
Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2014: 7335 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)
The most active consumer attorneys of the year:
- Representing 323 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
- Representing 162 Consumers: DAVID MICHAEL LARSON
- Representing 116 Consumers: JOHN THOMAS STEINKAMP
- Representing 112 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
- Representing 107 Consumers: MICHAEL ANTHONY EADES
- Representing 104 Consumers: ADAM JON FISHBEIN
- Representing 103 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
- Representing 100 Consumers: ANGIE K ROBERTSON
- Representing 85 Consumers: CRAIG THOR KIMMEL
- Representing 80 Consumers: MARY ELIZABETH PHILIPPS
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CFPB Complaint Statistics:
There were 3269 complaints filed against debt collectors in Jul 2014.
Total number of debt collectors complained about: 717
The types of debt behind the complaints were:
- 886 Other (phone, health club, etc.) (27%)
- 712 Unknown (22%)
- 679 Credit card (21%)
- 407 Medical (12%)
- 263 Payday loan (8%)
- 105 Mortgage (3%)
- 87 Auto (3%)
- 74 Non-federal student loan (2%)
- 56 Federal student loan (2%)
Here is a breakdown of complaints:
- 1347 Cont’d attempts collect debt not owed (41%)
- 653 Communication tactics (20%)
- 563 Disclosure verification of debt (17%)
- 268 False statements or representation (8%)
- 239 Taking/threatening an illegal action (7%)
- 199 Improper contact or sharing of info (6%)
The top five subissues were:
- 829 Debt is not mine (25%)
- 405 Debt was paid (12%)
- 396 Not given enough info to verify debt (12%)
- 385 Frequent or repeated calls (12%)
- 209 Attempted to collect wrong amount (6%)
The top states complaints were filed from are:
- 441 Complaints: CA
- 288 Complaints: TX
- 254 Complaints: FL
- 173 Complaints: NY
- 164 Complaints: GA
- 138 Complaints: OH
- 116 Complaints: NJ
- 115 Complaints: IL
- 113 Complaints: PA
- 106 Complaints: VA
The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:
- 2225 Closed with explanation (68%)
- 573 Closed with non-monetary relief (18%)
- 241 In progress (7%)
- 114 Closed (3%)
- 75 Untimely response (2%)
- 41 Closed with monetary relief (1%)
This includes 3132 (96%) timely responses to complaints, and 137 (4%) untimely responses.
Of the company responses, consumers accepted 0 (0%) of them, disputed 414 (13%) of them, and 2855 (87%) were N\A.
The top five days for complaints were:
- 174 Complaints: Mon, 07/07/2014
- 158 Complaints: Thu, 07/10/2014
- 157 Complaints: Thu, 07/24/2014
- 156 Complaints: Mon, 07/14/2014
- 155 Complaints: Wed, 07/09/2014